Typically, process plants, such as chemical refinery plants, include many field devices, that control and measure parameters within the process. A field device can be a control device such as a valve controller or a measurement device such as a temperature or flow transmitter. The field device can be coupled to a communication bus such that the devices can communicate to a remote location such as a control room.
Field management systems are software packages, run on computers typically located at remote locations such as in the control room, used to manage the field devices. One such software package, Asset Management Solutions.TM., is available from Fisher-Rosemount. The field management system generally utilizes several software modules, each configured to perform different functions. The field management system maintains a database containing information related to each field device and is capable of communicating with the field devices using the communication bus.
Calibrators and calibrator management systems are used to calibrate the field devices. A calibrator is typically a portable unit, which can be carried into the field and coupled to the field device. The calibrator performs a number of tests on the field device to determine the accuracy of the device. The test results can be used to adjust the field device in order to optimize performance. Test definitions or testing data containing instructions for calibrating a specific field device must be loaded into the calibrator before a device can be tested. The calibrator management system is a software package typically run on a computer which contains a proprietary, non-standard, database of the test definitions needed by the calibrator to test the field devices. The calibrator management system downloads the test definitions into the calibrator. Furthermore, the results of a calibration can be uploaded from the calibrator back into the CMS. However, typical field management systems have not been able to efficiently interface with field calibrators.